One YouTube video,[187] for example, reduces the much longer “Scandal in Belgravia” scene into a 16-second clip that has received more than 692,000 hits since the episode’s U.K. broadcast in January 2012, generated more than 31,000 subscriptions, and tabulated 5,223 thumbs-up (Likes) and 19 thumbs-down (Dislikes). Among the 1,384 comments, many which reference the actor instead of the character, are statements like these: “I am now addicted to Cumbercrack”.
As Kevin Goddard noted in The Journal of Men’s Studies, “the gazer is... as much influenced by the act of the gaze as is the subject of the gaze”.[188] That certainly seems to be the case with these fan-displayed images isolated from a television scene, cropped to highlight body parts for primarily female fan viewing, and posted and reposted online for maximum visibility in the Cumberbatch fan community. In this case, the subject of the gaze may end up being professionally affected by the gazers, who may keep promoting the actor as a sex symbol, but he publicly ignores fan works unless specifically asked about them.
Although the Sherlock episode touts the phrase, “brainy is the new sexy,” “brainy” may not be what attracts fans looking at Tumblr sites like the Benedict Cumberbatch Wank Bank.[189] Among other semi-clad images of a Cumberbatch character in various stages of undress are three animated .gifs from “A Scandal in Belgravia”. The first, and largest, image shows the camera slowly closing in on Sherlock’s bare chest, the second shows Sherlock’s bare back while John delivers a line of dialogue, and the third provides the clip of Mycroft stepping on Sherlock’s sheet, which then slides down and away from his body.
Among the eighty-four notes about these images are comments like “God, that body!... I’m dead! Oh, Benedict, what you do to me!” A very short clip has been turned into a prolonged female-gaze shot by slowing it down and emphasising bared flesh through looped animation so that the image is constantly displayed on screen, the camera focusing on Sherlock’s chest, back, or downward slipping sheet. The clip can be found on YouTube, individual fan websites, Live Journal sites, and WeHeartIt.com’s “No Sheet Sherlock” page,[190] which includes close-up stills of Sherlock’s chest, with his face and the background cropped so that his torso takes up most of the frame.
Of course, not all fans participate in the creation, viewing, or sharing of these images. As a whole, however, the actor’s fandom has become well known for their vociferous promotion of Cumberbatch. They regularly vote for him in popularity polls like Time’s 100 Most Influential People and publicise his every move. However, as Vulture magazine explained, “Cumberbatch only has a 10 percent awareness rating in America, according to the market research firm E-Score, which provided data for Vulture’s Most Valuable Stars equation. Put bluntly: He is an enormous star on the Internet - outside of that, not so much”.[191] Online, discussions and depictions of Cumberbatch’s sexiness are disproportionate to analysis of his acting or career. Whether sexy images of Sherlock (or Khan) eventually lead to higher Sherlock ratings or more tickets sold to Cumberbatch’s films or plays is unknown or, within this context, irrelevant. The female gaze directed by fans as part of a shared fan experience is done for love or lust, not money, and the use of Sherlock’s or other characters’ sexualised images is one of the best online markers to track Cumberbatch’s celebrity.
Sherlock has helped shape Cumberbatch’s recent career as much as the actor’s performance has shaped audience perceptions of the way a modern Sherlock Holmes should be. Although fandom and the series may sometimes have an uneasy relationship, especially regarding the directions characters have taken or will take, audiences around the world support Sherlock and the actor who portrays him.
What has not changed is Cumberbatch’s flair in the role and his drive to get the character right. Like co-star Freeman, Cumberbatch tends to bring something fresh to each take and to keep finding interesting ways to interpret the character.
Rupert Graves (Lestrade) admires Cumberbatch, who has to “learn three pages of speeches which are like verbal car chases... He has to work hugely long hours, but even when he’s doing night scenes after working all day, he’ll still be spinning around the room. It’s incredible. It’s like watching fireworks go off,”[192] an apt description of a man whose career has skyrocketed in popular culture.
Ruminating in 2014 about his decision to take the role more than four years earlier, Cumberbatch remembered at first worrying that yet another Sherlock Holmes remake would be “a bit cheap and cheesy” - but that was before he read the pilot script and saw the high quality of the writing. The role, he expected, could be “really exposing, in a good way, because there would be a lot of focus on it”.[193] That statement, it turns out, may be the understatement of Cumberbatch’s career.
122 Sherlock. “His Last Vow.” BBC. Dir. Nick Hurran. 12 Jan. 2014.
123 Bill Brioux. “Benedict Cumberbatch, TCA Superstar.” Brious.TV. 20 Jan. 2014.
124 Lianne Bonin Star. “Press Tour: Benedict Cumberbatch Talks Fans, ‘Sherlock,’ Kissing Moriarty.” Hitfix. 21 Jan. 2014.
125 Ibid.
126 Clark Collis. “’Sherlock’: Benedict Cumberbatch Talks Fans, His Future on the Show, and ‘Elementary’ at TCA Panel.” Entertainment Weekly. 21 Jan. 2014.
127 Denise Martin. “Benedict Cumberbatch Says Sherlock’s Moriarty Kiss was Like Fistbumping.” Vulture. 1 Jan. 2014.
128 Gelt, “TCA: The Curious Case of Benedict Cumberbatch and His Rabid Fans.”
129 Dave Walker. “’Sherlock,’ Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Returns to Growing Audience.” Times-Picayune. 21 Jan. 2014.
130 Rebecca Eaton. Making Masterpiece: 25 Years Behind the Scenes at Masterpiece Theatre and Mystery! on PBS. New York: Viking, 2013, p. 228.
131 Ibid., p. 229.
132 Sherlock. “A Scandal in Belgravia.” BBC. Dir. Paul McGuigan. 1 Jan. 2012.
133 Eaton, pp. 273-4.
134 Ibid., p. 274.
135 Ibid.
136 Kayla Epstein. “BBC Releases Sherlock Preview for Fans Celebrating Hearth and Holmes.” Guardian. 24 Dec. 2013.
137 Lisa De Moraes. “UPDATE: Benedict Cumberbatch Sentimental about ‘Sherlock’ But Mum About More Seasons After Series 3 Premiere Scores in Ratings.” Deadline Hollywood. 20 Jan. 2014.
138 “Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss Talk Sherlock Series 3.” Empire. Dec. 2013.
139 Dylan Cannon. “4 Iconic Movie Roles Played by Different Actors.” OK. 20 May 2014.
140 “Sherlock is Terrible, Decide Sherlock Fans.” Metro. 6 Jan. 2014.
141 Philiana Ng. “Critics’ Choice TV Nominations: ‘Big Bang Theory,’ ‘Good Wife’ Lead with Five Nods Each.” Hollywood Reporter. 25 May 2014.
142 Sara Bibel. “Nominations Announced for Fourth Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards.” TV By the Numbers. 28 May 2014.
143 Posts in response to Ng, “Critics’ Choice TV Nominations,” Hollywood Reporter.
144 Ben Dowell. “Sherlock Stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman Vie for Best Actor Award.” Radio Times. 29 May 2014.
145 National Television Awards. “NTA 2014 - Benedict Cumberbatch Acceptance Speech.” YouTube. 24 Jan. 2014.
146 Paul Jones. “Sherlock Season 4 Could Come Sooner than Expected: ‘We’re Working on Dates’ says Producer.” Radio Times. 9 Jan. 2014.
147 Alex Fletcher. “Sherlock Series 4 and 5 Already ‘Plotted Out,’ Says Steven Moffat.” Digital Spy. 9 Jan. 2014.
148 Tom Eames. “Martin Freeman: ‘Sherlock’ Might Return as a One-off Special.” Digital Spy. 24 Apr. 2014.
149 Susanna Lazarus. “Mark Gatiss on Sherlock Series 4 Filming Dates - Exclusive Video.” Radio Times. 19 May 2014.
&
nbsp; 150 Ian Youngs. “Steven Moffat on the World of Doctor Who and Sherlock.” BBC News. 26 Feb. 2014.
151 Sherlock. “The Reichenbach Fall.” Dir. Toby Haynes. 15 Jan. 2012.
152 Ibid.
153 Sherlock. “A Study in Pink.” BBC. Dir. Paul McGuigan. BBC. 25 July 2010.
154 Sherlock. “The Blind Banker.” Dir. Euros Lyn. BBC. 1 Aug. 2010.
155 Sherlock, “A Study in Pink.”
156 Sherlock. “A Scandal in Belgravia.”
157 Sherlock. “A Study in Pink.”
158 Sherlock. “The Great Game.” BBC. Dir. Paul McGuigan. 8 Aug. 2010.
159 Sherlock, “The Reichenbach Fall.”
160 Sherlock, “A Study in Pink.”
161 Jeff Jensen. “’Sherlock’ Goes ‘Man of Steel’ Should Heroes Have a License to Kill?” Entertainment Weekly. 3 Feb. 2014.
162 Sherlock. “The Empty Hearse.” BBC. Dir. Jeremy Lovering. 1 Jan. 2014.
163 Adrian Lobb. “Benedict Cumberbatch Interview: ‘I Went to Public School, But I’m Not a Public School Boy.’” Big Issue. 9 Jan. 2014.
164 Sherlock. “The Empty Hearse.”
165 Sherlock. “His Last Vow.”
166 Sherlock. “The Sign of Three.” BBC. Dir. Colm McCarthy. 5 Jan. 2014.
167 Sherlock. “His Last Vow.”
168 Sherlock. “The Empty Hearse.”
169 Sherlock. “The Sign of Three.”
170 Sherlock. “His Last Vow.”
171 Sherlock. “The Sign of Three.”.
172 Ibid.
173 Sherlock. “His Last Vow.”
174 The Graham Norton Show. Series 15, Episode 5. BBC. 6 May 2014.
175 Jess Denham. “Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch ‘First Sexy Holmes,’ Says Mark Gatiss.” Independent. 7 Mar. 2014.
176 Ben Beaumont-Thomas. “Steven Moffat: BBC Thought Tennant and Cumberbatch Weren’t Sexy Enough.” Guardian. 27 May 2014.
177 Sherlock. “A Scandal in Belgravia.”
178 Alice-Azania Jarvis. “Benedict Cumberbatch: Success? It’s Elementary.” Independent. 29 Jan. 2011.
179 Isabelle Fol. The Dominance of the Male Gaze in Hollywood Films: Patriarchal Hollywood Images at the Turn of the Millennium. Diplomarbeiten Agentur, 2006, p. 27. eBook.
180 Laura Mulvey. Visual and Other Pleasures. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1989. Cited in Fol, 2006, p. 27.
181 Graeme Burton. Media and Society: Critical Perspectives. McGraw-Hill International, 2004, p. 194. eBook.
182 Sherlock. “A Scandal in Belgravia.”
183 Alice Jones. “The Naked Truth About Lara Pulver.” Independent. 30 Apr. 2013.
184 Tara Conlan. “Sherlock is Cheeky Entertainment, Insists BBC After Nudity Complaints.” Guardian, 11 Jan. 2012.
185 Emma Dibdin. “Sherlock: 15 Best Moments from Benedict Cumberbatch’s BBC Holmes.” Digital Spy. 18 Dec. 2013.
186 Conlan, “Sherlock is Cheeky Entertainment, Insists BBC After Nudity Complaints.”
187 Among others: MsSherLocked. “Sherlock BBC - Get Off My Sheet!” 6. Jan. 2012. YouTube.
188 Kevin Goddard. “’Looks Maketh the Man’: The Female Gaze and the Construction of Masculinity.” Journal of Men’s Studies, 9(1), Fall 2000, p. 24.
189 Benedict Cumberbatch Wank Bank. Tumblr. 2012.
190 WeHeartIt.com. “No Sheet Sherlock” tag’s page.
191 Amanda Dobbins. “The Most Valuable Stars’ Disconnect Between Twitter and Mass Fame.” Vulture. 23 Oct. 2013.
192 Rupert Graves. “’I Wish They’d Let Me Play Holmes!’ By the Man Who Plays Bungling Inspector Lestrade.” Daily Mail. 17 Jan. 2014.
193 Jess Denham. “Sherlock Star Benedict Cumberbatch Almost Turned Down ‘Cheap and Cheesy’ Role.” Independent. 14 Feb. 2014.
Chapter 7
Television at Home and Abroad
“When we talk now about success in television, it’s about ‘territories’ - the number of countries airing a programme - and the degree of interest in China, TV’s new frontier. For Sherlock, the BBC’s poster-boy, that’s 200 countries, and obsessive”.[194]
James Medd, New Statesman
As Medd indicates, Sherlock may be Cumberbatch’s most prominent television role, and the one on which his current television celebrity has been built. After all, the reported viewing audience in China for the first episode was “absurd”: the download site Youku Tudou listed 49 million hits for “The Empty Hearse”.[195] Nevertheless, several other performances broadcast, streamed, or announced in 2013-14 illustrate not only how much he is in demand as an actor but how his name can “make” an event. As Cumberbatch takes on new roles, his celebrity ensures that he has an eagerly awaiting audience.
Even when he is not officially on a television episode, his name can make news. An early March 2014 episode of Waterloo Road saw a character compared to Cumberbatch: “You know, he’s not exactly Benedict Cumberbatch himself”. The throwaway line caught so many viewers’ attention - especially those who then tweeted about the reference - that the media picked up the Twitter “explosion,” claiming that those on Twitter during the episode would “be forgiven for thinking [Cumberbatch] was the star of the show”.[196] Non-Sherlock appearances, or even the mere mention of Cumberbatch’s name, lead to more media publicity for the actor, but the articles inevitably link Cumberbatch with his role as Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is far from all that Cumberbatch is known for, but it is the easiest popular culture reference by which to identify him.
As a result of Cumberbatch’s extreme publicity for 2013’s well-promoted films, the third series of Sherlock, and popular radio projects like Cabin Pressure and Neverwhere, Cumberbatch received a wide variety of offers for one-off roles on television to appear as himself as well as to act as a character.
Although some of his many talk-show appearances have been analysed in other chapters, they helped viewers just beginning to recognise his name to form an opinion about the man and his work. This chapter emphasises a few examples of other types of television appearances, such as those on Sesame Street and Top Gear. Even more intriguing than these celebrity guest appearances is Cumberbatch’s work as an emcee, commentator, or “journalist” at sporting or other special televised events. These experiences offer the actor an off shoot to his established acting career and put him in the public eye in a very different work role - as someone who interviews professionals in another field or offers insights into topics other than acting.
However, Cumberbatch’s forte is acting, and forthcoming television productions also received a great deal of publicity long before they were filmed, much less broadcast. Cumberbatch’s casting in The Hollow Crown series of three Shakespearean plays was first announced in May 2014. From that time onward, the production frequently was mentioned in entertainment news, and each time a new cast member was added or a broadcast date announced, articles prominently listed Cumberbatch’s name. Television, although only one medium in which this proficient actor works, effectively employs and promotes both the actor and the celebrity, and the range of projects shortly after Cumberbatch’s transition to stardom was completed celebrates both the professional and the popular Cumberbatch.
Sesame Street
Even when Cumberbatch is not playing Sherlock, he is expected to seem Sherlockian. Nowhere was that truer than on Sesame Street on PBS’ YouTube channel. Although the episode officially was not on television, it was inexorably linked to the popular children’s television show and affiliated with it. The episo
de’s title, “Benedict Cumberbatch and the Sign of Four (Or Is It Three?),” refers not only to the canon story “The Sign of Four” but the Sherlock series three episode, “The Sign of Three”.
Like contemporaries such as Tom Hiddleston, Cumberbatch appeared on the children’s programme, but his celebrity appeal crossed generations. More parents or grandparents than children likely knew of Cumberbatch at the time this segment came online. The association between Sherlock Holmes and Cumberbatch defined his interaction with the Muppets and gave Sesame Street writers a chance to insert many clever allusions to Sherlock and Sherlock Holmes canon.
In the video,[197] viewed more than 4.6 million times within four months after its debut, Cumberbatch confronts Murray-arty, the Muppet version of Moriarty, and must solve a mystery involving a comparison of apples and oranges. After explaining that he is an actor and not the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes, Cumberbatch relies on Sesame Street’s Count to help him solve the puzzle.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Transition Completed Page 13